The present invention relates to a wound dressing that includes an hydrophilic foam layer that is covered on one side with a liquid permeable adhesive layer.
Weeping wounds or sores are typically treated with wound dressings that include a pad which absorbs surplus fluid exuding from the wound. The fluid, or semifluid, absorbed by the pad spreads laterally in the dressing and may reach the skin which lies around the edges of the wound and which then comes into contact with the fluid. This fluid contact is potentially harmful to the skin, as it may result in maceration of the skin or damage the skin in some other way. This is a highly common complication in the treatment chronic wounds and sores.
Another problem is that the change of dressings will often have a deleterious affect on the healing process.
An object of the present invention is to provide a wound dressing with which the risk of skin maceration is reduced and with which that part of the wound pad that lies proximal to the wound is kept free from fluid until the pad becomes saturated. Another object of the invention is to provide a two-layer dressing that includes a drainable first layer of hydrophilic foam that lies nearest the wound. This layer can be left on the wound, or sore, over a long period of time whereas a second layer that functions to drain the first layer can be changed at regular intervals.
These objects are achieved with a wound dressing which comprises an hydrophilic foam layer that is coated with a layer of liquid-permeable adhesive on one side, wherein the dressing is characterized by an absorbent layer disposed on the foam layer on the opposite side of the adhesive coating and which has the ability to drain the foam layer by capillary action; and in that the dressing includes means for ensuring that good contact is obtained between the absorbent layer and the foam layer. The capillary forces in the layer of absorbent material act to empty the foam layer of fluid, therewith essentially eliminating the risk of skin maceration. This enables the foam layer to remain on the wound bed for a longer period of time without needing to be chanced.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the hydrophilic foam layer has a maximum thickness of 2 mm and a mean cell size of 300-500 xcexcm. The adhesive coating is comprised of a soft, sticky, hydrophobic elastomer.
The invention also relates to a wound dressing intended for co-action with an absorbent body, wherein the dressing is characterized by an hydrophilic foam layer which has on one side an adhesive coating that extends over the whole of its surface without blocking or clogging the pores of said layer, wherein said layer has a thickness of at most 2 mm and a mean cell size of 300-500 xcexcm.